Fool
by Heslen
Summary: Anna's excited that Elsa's finally talking to her. Actually, she's more excited than that, because tomorrow is the first of April and Anna thinks that Elsa needs a laugh... takes place sometime after the movie ends. K because of the later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**First movie fanfic. First Disney, too. Good luck me. I don't own anything, really.**

* * *

Anna bounced down the hall, giggling to herself. It was the last day of the year's third month, and Anna's first April Fools day when she could actually play tricks on people was tomorrow. Elsa, of course, would be the first one she'd prank. Actually, Anna had a complicated plan, which started with Elsa.

Anna skipped into the kitchen, where Gerda was mixing herbs of some sort. "Hi Gerda!" Anna trilled.

Gerda curtsied, a smile appearing on her face as she took in the princess. "M'lady Anna!" she exclaimed. "What brings you here?"

Anna smiled sweetly. This was going to be _way _too easy. "Actually, I was wondering if we had any flour?"

Gerda frowned. "Of course we do. Why do you need it?" Anna plonked down on the floor and took a deep breath, preparing to tell a long story, hoping Gerda took the bait. Of course, she did. Anna's plan wouldn't fail _this_ early on... "Anna, m'lady, don't sit there! You'll ruin your dress!" Gerda cried.

Anna jumped back up. "Sorry. Actually, I am in a bit of a rush... bye! Wait, my flour! Sorry, I'm in a bit of a scramble today." She told her motherly maid earnestly. Gerda chuckled and bustled over to the cupboard.

"How much do you need, m'lady?" She asked, preparing to measure it out.

"Oh... I don't know... can I just take the bag? I'll work it out when I get there, I'm in a bit of a rush..." Anna repeated.

Gerda held the bag out and curtsied as the young princess rushed off. Then she turned back to her herbs, chuckling under her breath.

* * *

Anna hummed to herself as she swung open the door of her room. She backed inside and closed the door with her foot, plopping the flour onto her desk. The young princess ensured that the door was securely locked and then put phase 1 into action. From one of the mahogany drawers she pulled a bottle of glue. Anna made small glue-balls, whitening them with the flour. She set batches of them to dry in her wide windowsills, making as many as she could with the amount of glue she had. Then, Anna lightly dusted her little white droplets with very fine glitter so the they sparkled.

Anna slipped out of her chamber to start phase two.

She went down to the stables, telling the closest stable hand she was off to look for a new dress, showing him the tear in the bottom of the one she carried in her arms. Anna climbed onto her horse and rode out into town to find a dressing-up shop.

Anna soon discovered that while there were a suspicious lack of dress-up shops in Arendelle city, there was a cloth merchant wearing a dark cape over his clothing. Anna asked a favour - she would swap in her torn dress and in return receive the cape the merchant wore. Anna thanked him and moved on. She tethered her horse by the docks and walked the rest of the way back to the castle. Disguised by her hood, Anna told the guards that there was an important message for her at Wandering Oakens trading post - a deal that could secure the safety of the kingdom forevermore. The guard promised to get the message to her majesty Queen Elsa as fast as possible and Anna made her way back to her horse. She quickly pulled the cape off and stuffed it in her saddle bag, riding back towards the castle. On the way, she passed Elsa, who called to her younger sister.

"Anna!"

"Hey Elsa! What are you doing out here?" Anna pulled off her best puzzled expression as Elsa quickly embraced her and pulled away.

"Oh, I apparently have to rush off to a Wandering Oakens trade post to discover a deal that will save the kingdom. Or something. Point is, I won't be back until tomorrow, so I wanted to remind you _not _to burn the castle down, _not _to let any strangers in through the gates after 8 pm, and to close your window before you go to bed, okay?" Anna nodded innocently.

"Love you, Anna, see you tomorrow."

"Bye Elsa, love you too." The sisters embraced again and urged their horses off in different directions. Anna grinned to herself at the thought of 'big summer blow-out' securing the safety of the kingdom.

* * *

She trotted her new white horse - Maximus - in through the castle gates and stabled him, asking the grooms to take care of him.

Anna needed to hurry, it was mid-afternoon. She was very nearly late. Anna hurried upstairs to Elsa's chamber and twisted the handle. Locked. Anna rushed into the room next to Elsa's searching for the spare keys. She finally found them stuck to the underside of the chest of drawers. Anna hurried back into the hall and opened the door to Elsa's room. She hurried through and ruffled through Elsa's glove drawer, occasionally throwing a glove or two over her shoulder onto the floor. The effect was wonderful, it looked as though someone had sneaked in and tried to steal something. Anna ruffled the curtains and opened the window panes. Suddenly a thought struck her. She all but sprinted to Kristoff's room, and found his biggest pair of working shoes. She borrowed one and backed out of Kristoff's chamber with it, running smack into her boyfriend on the way out.

"Kristoff!" Anna jumped and tucked the boot behind her back. "I, uh, didn't see you there."

He chuckled. "I can tell. What have you got there?"

"Nothing," Anna told him too quickly. "I mean, yes, there is something but it's nothing, I mean, nothing isn't something and I haven't got nothing but... and... well..."

Kristoff reached over her shoulder and yanked his boot out of her hands. Anna, predicting his next question, thought quickly. "What were you doing with this?"

Anna pretended to give in. "Okay, don't tell anyone, but I wanted to prank Elsa. For tomorrow, you know? I mean, she's been so serious since... you know, and I thought she could do with a laugh."

"Okay, what were you planning to do?" Kristoff asked the princess.

"Well," Anna fibbed, "I wanted to mix up her shoes. And then I thought, why not add in someone else's? It'll take her longer to notice because she's gone somewhere overnight and she'll come back tomorrow morning. And I thought I would use just one of yours, and maybe one of Gerda's."

"Oh," smiled Kristoff, "so that's what you were doing down in the kitchen."

"Exactly," Anna nodded. Kristoff patted her on the shoulder and walked into his room. Anna made her way back upstairs, grinning at the idea of all the havoc that she'd started by telling everyone different stories. Once they started talking to each other, there'd be pandemonium. Exactly the type of April Fool's day she'd been imagining for so long.

* * *

**Well, that's far from the end, so follow this story if you want to see more. Review if you like...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone. Massive response from my first chapter, apparently it was well written. Thanks to everyone for your reviews, follows, favourites, etc. Enjoy this new chapter!**

* * *

Elsa urged Phantom forwards. She wanted to get this over and done with quickly; Anna was back home alone. Well, not quite alone, after all Gerda was there, and Kristoff might be in; but Elsa worried all the same.

Her mind turned to this mystery deal. It was all very suspicious, she thought. First, an unknown woman, hiding her face, has an urgent message for the Queen, but couldn't write a letter or ask to see her. Then, Gerda's busy in the kitchen, seeming to hide her work from the Queen. Finally, she has to ride all the way out here - a full day's trip - just to strike some sort of deal. The kingdom didn't need much protecting at the moment - they were at peace with the other kingdoms, weren't they?

Elsa froze in position, causing Phantom's every move to jar her hips. _Hans. _What if, somehow, he had convinced his kingdom to lay siege on Arendelle..? And what if this was all just a plot to get her out of the castle... Elsa's breath started coming in short gasps. _Anna! Anna's still at home! _She yanked her arms up, dropping the reins as ice began to creep over the leather. The queen covered her hand by her shirt and began to, very carefully, fumble through her saddlebag for the pair of gloves she'd made sure to pack. An apple, followed by the rest of Elsa's food, dropped into the dirt as she drew nearer to the bottom of the bag. Finally, she caught a glimpse of the soft blue fingertips.

She yanked the gloves up her arms, feeling more secure immediately, although a feeling of dread settled in her stomach. The gloves made Elsa recall the old fear of hurting someone again _much _too clearly. The young queen repacked her bag, dusting off the apple that hadn't been wrapped up.

Elsa wheeled Phantom around, preparing to gallop back to the castle. Then something stopped her. _"I can secure the future of your kingdom," _was what the guard had repeated to her. Maybe she should go? At least to find out what this deal was. She didn't have to accept it.

Tugging her gloves up to her elbows, Elsa turned and rode north.

* * *

Left. Right. Left. Anna twisted the strands of hair and tied them off, forming her second braid. Ear-tucking a stray curl, the princess checked on her fake snow. It seemed ready.

Anna spread the cape she had borrowed on the floor, pulled her sewing kit closer to her, and got to work. She cut out a large piece of the fabric and pulled one of the threads loose. She had to unravel three or four threads before she could find one that was long enough for her plan. Once she had a sort of inverted canopy shape, Anna grabbed her sewing kit and hurried down to the private room that she and Elsa used to confer in, when Elsa wanted to check something with her younger sister before officially announcing it.

Anna strung her inverted canopy from the beams that held the ceiling up, ensuring that the loose thread dangled down into the darkness. Directing her gaze upwards, the young trouble maker tugged the thread and was pleased to see that one edge was pulled downwards, making a ramp. Clapping her hands in delight, Anna practically ran from the room to finish setting up.

Next stop, the gardener's shed.

Knocking on the door, Anna smoothed down her skirt, adopting a polite expression. Erik, the gardener, opened the door and bowed to her. "Your Majesty."

"Hello, Erik," Anna replied. "I was wondering, that is to say, Gerda was wondering, or was it Kristoff? Well, wondering whether I could possibly borrow a bucket?"

Erik suppressed a grin at the princess's incurable awkwardness. "Of course, Majesty," he told her, "large or small?"

'Small, please, Erik."

Erik turned away and shifted a potplant. Anna fiddled with her plait, her skirt and her fingers. Finally Erik reappeared with a small green bucket. "Thanks, Eric, I'll bring it right back, which is to say, after I've used it, or Kristoff's used it, or rather Svens used it for his carrot, probably, bye!" Gabbled Anna, turning away.

* * *

Back in her room, Anna tipped all of her snow into the bucket, then swung by Elsa's room to grab a pair of gloves, and made her way back down to the conference room. She tipped most of the snow into the fabric canopy, then tested the home-made contraption. The snow began to swirl around her, dusting her shoulders and, in the dark, looking for all the world like the stuff Elsa made. Anna cleaned up her experiment and piled her fake snow back into the canopy. The bit that she'd saved went into the fingers of her gloves. Anna hurried past the kitchen to return the flour, and when Gerda wasn't looking she put her gloves in the cold box.

Anna skipped back up to her room, plan almost completely set out.

Now she needed to confuse some more people.

Just because she could.

* * *

**So, that's enough for now. It's a little short but I keep getting reviews telling me to update, so... here it is. Enjoy. I'm still not done. Did you like Elsa's PoV? What about the name Erik for the gardener? Any other name suggestions?**

**Review if you want to. You don't have to. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys, sorry it's been a while. Not that long actually, but I had the first two chapters out pretty fast so I thought... anyway. Yeah, a dear frienddof mine introduced me to the X-Files and so I actually haven't been on FF for a while. X-Files? Yeah, that really old TV show. Whatever. It's funny.**

**I do not own anything except for anything that isn't in the credits of the movie. **

* * *

Two black horses, their strides aligned, clopped past the gatehouse. Their riders had uniform posture and attire, their expressions blank. From the third floor of the castle, the princess paused to glance at them, then continued her busy work.

She was making mud.

Anna prodded the sticky brown muck in her bucket. Satisfied, she coated the underside of Kristoff's boot with the mud and, conscious of the mud trail she was leaving, skipped to her older sister's room. Anna leant as far out of the window as possible, then pressed the boot to the wall, leaving a perfect boot print. Just as she was pulling her arm back inside, her hand slipped a tiny bit and left a smear of mud on the wall. Anna sighed theatrically. That would need cleaning up.

First, though, the bucket and the shoe.

Slipping into the bathroom, Anna rinsed Kristoff's boot and placed it upside down to dry in the empty already subtly disposed of the extra mud by tipping it out her window, Anna began to scrub the bucket, then left it to dry next to her boyfriend's on hips, the young troublemaker considered the problem of the gunk trail on the carpet. Despite her many other scheming...schemes, the only way Anna could think of to remove the mess was to do it physically, with a cloth.

So she did.

* * *

A wooden sign swung gently in the soft breeze. Elsa considered the words inscribed there for a moment. _Wandering Oakens Trading Post. _Just what did they have to trade? Elsa knew that a trade was a transaction. Someone would gain something, but lose something else. The safety of her kingdom was possibly the most important thing in a Queen's life. What could she possibly offer in return for that? _Anna. _A nagging voice in the back of Elsa's mind, the one that often helped her make snow, was whispering the princess's name. Elsa told it quite firmly to go bother someone else, knocked once, and pushed open the door.

* * *

Stars swam before Anna's eyes. Scratches up her arms and legs stung, and there was a bruise forming on her elbow.

Damn that streak of mud for being so far out of the window.

At least the mud was gone now, Anna reflected ruefully, dusting her arms off. It would take too much effort to pull herself fully upright, and Anna knew that she should keep it simple for the moment. She had just fallen three storeys, after all. The princess had gotten away pretty lucky, actually. She had managed to slow her fall several times by grabbing onto window frames and drainpipes on the way down, and although the bush had scratched her it was probably one of the softest, most comfy bushes to land in in the grounds.

After simply lying and watching the clouds drift by for a few minutes, Anna pushed herself up, supporting her upper body with her elbow. She winced as, too late, she remembered the bruise forming on right elbow.

Anna stumbled out of the bushes and knocked right into Erik.

"Princess Anna?"

* * *

The Queen ambled out of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post, bewildered. She had swept into the building in all of her grandeur, prepared to seal her future, and found that she'd been set up. She'd been offered sunblock, for Heaven's sake! She had been furious, snowflakes blasting from her fingertips and sweeping around the simple room. The trademaster hadn't seemed too put off, though - he'd just offered for her to sample the sauna. Elsa became cautious, not understanding the way his mind worked. She'd been charmed though; when he introduced his family, when he'd been friendly; nothing he did seemed threatening. Elsa relaxed, but she was still confused as to what the intention had been of sending her out here. She had been played like a fool, but nothing had come of it.

Elsa put the matter out of her head and remounted Phantom. The horse seemed unsettled; probably because Elsa had been using her magic recently. She slipped her gloves back on, paling at the memory of why she'd been wearing them before. What if she arrived home and something had happened to Anna? Elsa couldn't get home that evening, but she'd camp somewhere close by and arrive home early in the morning. Elsa rode about 200 feet in the direction of Arendelle's city. Then she considered her options.

She could sleep on the ground. Then again, Elsa was an esteemed Queen, and - she felt snobby for even _thinking _it, but it was true - sleeping on the ground seemed beneath her. Then again, the more grand she looked, the higher chance she'd be mugged, or robbed. Besides, Elsa didn't want to make anything as permanent as another ice palace - she was only staying a night. At Anna's suggestion, Elsa had left the palace intact, up in the mountains, as it really was beautiful.

Elsa tugged off her gloves and tucked them into her satchel. She took a deep breath and formed a tiny ice structure It was one room, really just three and a half walls and a roof. The Queen worried whether it would melt on her in the middle of the night. _Probably not, _she decided, _but I'd better keep a hand on the wall just in case. _

Elsa circled her creation, inspecting it. She lifted her hands and effortlessly fenced off a small area for Phantom. Once he was in, she tethered his reins to the ice, just in case. She hurried into her temporary, glittering home.

Inside, Elsa used her magic to create a pile of soft white powder and lay down. It was cold, not uncomfortably so, and _very _soft. Elsa was relaxed by using her magic. Although she had her powers under control, sometimes she felt restless, knowing what she could do with all the energy built up inside of her. Elsa lifted her hand and sent a few white-gold flowers and snowflakes fluttering in the air. She smiled and laid her head down.

* * *

"I'm fine, Erik, really. It's not what it look like."

Erik regarded the princess doubtfully, but obediently left her alone. Anna stumbled up into her own room, done with troublemaking for that evening. There were a few minor preparations to finish off with the next morning, but Anna could wait for that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi. I don't own anything. Thanks for your reviews and such, it's heartening to see that each time I post a chapter I get a new follow or favourite. I guess the Disney fandom is much bigger than the Virals fandom... but I'm not sure how it's bigger than the Hunger Games fandom. Nice long chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Birdsong accompanied the sunlight that woke Anna in the morning. She didn't normally wake up before at least eight o'clock, but the Queen could return home at any moment and Anna had to be prepared. That in itself was strange, as the princess was normally more of an improvisation, on-the-go sort of young lady, but today was special.

Today was April Fools Day! Anna sprang out of bed, prepared to rush off, and immediately tumbled to the floor, wincing. She'd forgotten about the minor injuries she'd sustained from her fall last night. More cautiously this time, Anna dragged herself upright and took a careful step forward. Encouraged, she twisted around to check the time. To her surprise, Anna discovered that it was only ten to seven. _Elsa would be proud, _Anna reflected. Her older sister often bugged the princess about waking up on time.

Speaking of Elsa, Anna made her way to the door, wincing every time she discovered a movement that jarred her injuries. She had work to do, and not much time to do it.

* * *

It was still dark when Elsa woke. Overnight, her snow had settled into the most comfortable position and, being the snow queen, she wasn't cold. It was the most comfortable she'd been since last week when she and Anna had curled up together on a sofa, in front of the fire, and covered themselves with a blanket. Elsa snuggled further into her frosty bed, then sat bolt upright. Anna! She had to get home to her sister. Elsa jumped off her snow pile and gathered her possessions. Hurrying out the door, Elsa glanced over to check that Phantom was still present and accounted for, then turned back to her shelter. With one last, rueful glance at her bed, Elsa swept away the snow with a sweep of her hands.

Mounting her stallion, the Queen sneaked a single glance in the direction of Wandering Oakens and urged Phantom south.

She had a prank to prepare.

* * *

Anna perched on the railing, sliding down the staircase to the dining room in one swift motion. It was one of the only things Anna could do better than her sister: the others were eating quickly and handling animals. They always seemed to shy away from Elsa's ice powers, with the exception of Phantom, Elsa's horse.

The princess sidled into the dining room. Nobody was in there, but a tiny buffet was positioned off to the side of the room. Anna sighed in relief and rushed towards it, her progress only halted by the reminder of her injuries. For a princess so eager, it was hard to remember not to rush everywhere she went.

Finishing her meal, Anna placed her plate on the side of the counter and headed off. Up to her room, to get changed and braid her hair, to Elsa's room to check for any incriminating evidence, and then down to Kristoff's room to give him back his shoe. Her boyfriend wasn't in at the time, but Anna knew he'd be fine with her visiting, if just to return a boot.

Then Anna headed out to the garden shed, to see Erik. She knocked, but nobody was there. Anna searched the grounds out the front of the castle, then the back, then the sides. Still no sign. The princess finally found Erik in the herb garden, tending to a small leafy plant.

"Basil," explained Erik by way of greeting. Then he seemed to realise who he was talking to. "Oh, M'lady!" he exclaimed, bouncing upright so that he could bow. Anna waved him off.

"That's okay, Erik. Is basil common?"

"It's common for cooking, yes. Most of your lunch or dinner foods would have basil in them, if we've plenty to spare. It doesn't grow here, as such, we have to import it."

"Where from?" Anna questioned. She had never considered taking up gardening as a hobby, but there seemed to be more to it than she'd originally thought.

"The Southern Isles, mostly. That's where it's cheapest because it's plentiful over there. Not so much here, or out west."

Anna nibbled her bottom lip, her thoughts fluttering to Hans. She returned her attention to the task at hand. "Listen, Erik, I just wanted to reassure you that I'm okay. I know you were worried about me."

Anna ended up spending a good twenty minutes in the herb garden with Erik, long enough to miss her sister as she arrived back at the castle.

* * *

Elsa squeezed Phantom's sides, urging him from a canter into a gallop. He transitioned easily; Elsa knew he'd been longing for a good gallop the whole time they'd been riding as the woods had been too thick to rise above an extended trot. A few citizens clamoured for the Queen's attention as she thundered through the village, and she responded with a wave.

The guards seemed to hear her coming, and they opened the gates before Elsa even signalled them. She didn't have to slow Phantom's gallop until the last minute. Puffing, panting and grinning like a fool, Elsa slid off her horse's back and began to remove his tack. She was just taking off the saddle cloth when a voice behind her asked slyly, "Good run?"

Elsa turned, damp sponge in hand, and replied, "Brilliant. Was Phantom a racehorse for Arendelle at any time?"

Kai, leaning over the stable door, responded. "Don't think so, but he was by Cebrus and Bree, and they ran for Arendelle."

Elsa nodded, sponging down her horse. "Kai, how is Anna?"

"Fine, your Majesty."

...

The first thing Elsa did when she entered the castle was to set up Anna's prank. Since her younger sister hadn't had much social experience as a child - a surge of guilt penetrated Elsa's heart- she wasn't sure whether Anna would remember the special occasion or not. The Queen held out her hand and created a frosty rose flower in midair, then closed her fingers and the flower vanished. Elsa turned and wandered into the conference room that she and Anna used whenever Elsa had to appear in court. A gold-framed mirror hung on one wall. Elsa created an image of what she could see in the mirror, using her power. Then she pressed the image over the glass of the mirror. When Elsa stepped in front of the glass, she saw the false reflection she'd created, using her ice power, but not her own face.

Elsa's lips curled upwards in triumph. _Perfect._

* * *

Latching the little white gate behind her, Anna glanced forwards and froze.

Not literally, of course. She just stopped, very still.

That was Elsa's horse, being lead around in cooling laps. Which meant that Elsa was home. Which meant that Anna could kickstart her plans.

"Showtime," Anna muttered to herself.

But how to get Elsa into the conference room?

* * *

Elsa sat restlessly on her bed, disturbed by the state of her room. Why were her gloves all over the floor? She hadn't left them there, had she? Ice began to form under her fingernails as the thought occurred. Now that she thought of it, Elsa couldn't remember exactly what she'd been doing when she'd left to go to Wandering Oakens... was this mess Elsa's doing?

She piled the gloves back in her drawer, and put the idea to the back of her mind. _Concentrate on Anna. Make today fun for her. _

But how to get Anna into the conference room?

It turned out, she didn't have to.

* * *

Anna had retrieved the gloves from the ice box in the kitchen and slid them inside another pair of gloves to mask the coldness at first touch. Now, she had to time this bit exactly right or the whole scheme would crash down around her shoulders. Anna all but ran to the conference room, standing next to the spot under the snowfall target area. _Oooh, I sound so professional, _Anna thought with glee. She glanced in the mirror to make sure everything was hidden from view.

Stopped.

Looked again.

Nothing there. Well, there were some things there, like the walls and the roof and the black canopy if you looked hard enough. But there was no Anna in the mirror, and that was very, very worrying.

"Elsa Elsa!" She shrieked. She waited a few seconds for an answering call, then tried again. "Elsa!"

The door swung open, and her sister's panicked face appeared, followed by lots of ice on the floor. "Anna?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi. Here is chapter 5, as you can see. I've been neglecting my other stories for this. I'm sorry for anyone who might read my other stories and want updates, but the ideas are flowing quickly for this story; more than the others. Enjoy; I don't own Frozen.**

* * *

Elsa swept into the conference room, her expression terrified. She had to keep up the pretence until midday. It was hard not to smile, though; Anna's befuddled face was hilarious, not to mention that Elsa had practically skied downstairs to reach her sister.

"Anna? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

As Anna turned to face the Queen, Elsa made a tiny motion with her hands and the frosty alteration on the surface of the mirror disappeared, so that what Elsa saw was a true reflection.

Anna hesitated before answering. "Elsa, can you see anything _really odd_ in that mirror?"

Elsa frowned, peering around her sister to see the mirror. She grinned. _Act like you think Anna's the one fooling you. _"Yes, you... carrots," the Queen joked, moving closer and tugging on one of Anna's braids. Anna made a face.

"But that's my point! See, I'm not _in_ the...oh."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, there was something."

"It doesn't matter."

"It seemed to before."

"No, it's okay."

"Something's not."

"It's fine, it doesn't matter."

"Anna what is it?"

"It _doesn't matter."_

"_Something _matters."

"Elsa it's nothing, it doesn't matter!"

* * *

Anna frowned as she watched her sister's growing impatience. Attempting to dismiss Elsa, she tried one more time. Perhaps she'd been imagining the not-Anna in the mirror. "Elsa it's nothing, it doesn't matter!"

Elsa huffed in frustrated exasperation, throwing her hands in the air and causing white sparks to billow around the two of them. "Fine," she told her sister irritably. "Well, if you have any more problems with 'nothing,' any more concerns about 'things that don't matter,_' _just _scream _my name hysterically and I'll come _pelting _down the corridor."

She spun on her heel and strode towards the door. Anna tested the temperature of the gloves she'd refrigerated overnight. She had to do this now or it would be too late. "Elsa, wait!"

Her sister turned around, one hand on her hip, the other swirling snowflakes around her head like a halo, foot tapping impatiently. "What?"

The princess took a deep breath. If she could pull this off, it would be hysterical. She'd still be laughing years later. "Elsa, are you... okay?"

This caught the queen off guard. "What? she repeated stupidly.

"Else, you seem a little tense. Are you, you know, in control?" Anna fidgeted with her feet, casually moving herself towards the spot she needed the two of them to be.

Elsa frowned. "Anna, I'm the Queen. What do you mean, am I in control? Technically, I control everything."

Anna discreetly lead an unsuspecting Elsa towards the canopy where they had to stand for this to work. "I mean, you know..." Anna looked pointedly at the ice that carpeted the floor around the door. "Your powers."

* * *

Elsa was about to wave her sister off, saying that she was fine, but something stopped her. Yesterday at Oakens she'd filled an innocent man's home and his place of livelihood with ice just because she had been annoyed. She'd had to wear her gloves, and then she had been a little over-the-top with creating her shelter. Lying there trying to sleep, she'd used her magic to try and soothe her. Was Elsa becoming addicted? Maybe the power was taking over. Elsa leaned against the wall, starting to tremble. Was she going to have to freeze her kingdom again?

Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw Anna give a tiny smile. It was nearly... triumphant? Elsa dismissed the thought. At the moment, she needed to focus on one thing only. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, you seem to be more... emotional. I'm not sure when it started. And when you get annoyed, or angry, you use the magic more often. Elsa, is everything okay?"

"You know, Anna, I'm not sure it is..." A glistening white snowflake glided through the air, coming to rest between them. It was followed by several more. Elsa gasped and retracted her hands closer to her chest. Anna frowned in concern.

"Elsa, do you need gloves? I have a pair here, Gerda gave them to me."

"Thank you... they're thick... why are they thick?"

"Reinforced stitching, you tore them last time."

"Oh." The anxious queen slipped her finger inside the gloves and gasped. They were so cold! This had never happened before - she'd frozen them within a second of putting them on -

"Elsa? Elsa! What's wrong?!"

"Cold - so cold..."

* * *

Anna hid her smile. This was working out _perfectly. _The fake snow that Anna had made drifted around the sisters, startling Elsa. The princess could feel the temperature of the room dropping as real snow, Elsa's snow, also began to fall, disguising her prank material. _And _Elsa had taken the gloves... it was better than Anna could have hoped for.

"Cold - so cold..."

Suddenly, everything went wrong at once. A whole heap of snow tumbled through the air and crashed heavily around the two of them. It dragged down the canopy Anna had made from the cape, which the girls became entangled in, and a pair of guards charged into the room, screaming bloody murder.

* * *

Erik smiled peacefully as he trimmed the jasmine. It was one of his favourite plants to work with as the scent was so enjoyable. In the distance, a bell bird chirped a single, ringing note. A butterfly fluttered in the acacias. There was a gentle rippling sound from the moat. Everything was peaceful.

From the first floor of the castle, two ear-splitting female screams, a horrendous crash and a roar of guards broke the silence like a hammer would a mirror.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Here's a new chapter. I'm putting most of my creative energy into one part of my extended English course assessment: 600 word short story. It'd be easy to write such a short piece of writing, but it's too limited. Having a 10% word limit extension isn't that helpful, but my word count is 559 so I've just squeezed under the limit. I'll need to write another draft later, just to fix it up a little, but all I really need to do is write out my plan and brainstorming and then my whole assignment will be finished, complete with drafts and what will pass as a final copy. Anyway, I don't own, and stuff.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ouch! Elsaaaaaa... you're on my leg, hang on..."

"Your Majesties? What's going on?! Are you all right? What's happening?"

"Anna?! Anna where are you?"

"What's happening?"

"The Queen's under there, look at the snow - "

"-Yes, I can here she's under there, get moving this ice - "

" Wait a second, Elsa, can you just move your back a little to the left, now I'll move my leg and you can get your arm out..."

"Um, would you mind removing your foot from my elbow? _Thank _you Anna..."

"Three two one _up!"_

It took five people almost as many minutes to untangle the sisters, and then another three on Elsa and the guards' parts to remove the snow. Once they were free, Elsa dismissed their guards and told them to wait down the corridor. When only Anna and Elsa remained in the conference room, Elsa spoke.

"Ann, I... I don't know what happened. I was fine before, and then you said you'd noticed ... things, and I realised you were right, and then the snow came out of nowhere! I'm so sorry Anna." Elsa paused, twisting her fingers nervously. "And then, the gloves were so cold the minute I put them on, and it started snowing and I didn't think I'd done anything, and now I'm confused."

Anna stood before her sister, growing guiltier by the minute. She'd only been trying to have a laugh, she hadn't meant to cause this much trouble, surely Elsa would understand...

"-don't know where the cloth came from," Elsa was saying. "Of course, I made my ice dress using my powers but I've never made anything but cold by accident."

Anna nodded, trying to pay attention. The clock on the wall informed the princess that she had a minute and twenty-six seconds until midday, when she could yell "April Fool!" and everything would be okay again.

" " Anna opened her mouth, then closed it again, at once at a loss for anything to say.

* * *

Just one minute and twelve seconds until Elsa could yell "April Fool!" and distract her sister from this whole mess, giving them both something to laugh about and hopefully fixing this issue that Elsa seemed to be having.

Anna didn't seem to be contributing much to their conversation, so Elsa took it upon herself to change the subject. "So, Anna," she began, "what was the reason you started yelling for me in the first place?"

Anna glanced at the clock and then replied, "It's probably nothing, I didn't want to worry you. It's just that, I was just glancing in the mirror and everything was there, the walls and the clock and the roof and the can - " She broke off suddenly. Elsa was curious.

"Can of what?"

"Nothing. Anyway, everything was reflected in the mirror like it should have been, except for me! Elsa, I swear I wasn't reflected! And I'd just been told a story about vampires by Sven, I mean Kristoff, well he was telling Sven and then Olaf told me it was a good story so I came too, and it was a good story and I wasn't scared, but then I didn't have a reflection and I thought maybe -"

Elsa laughed gently. She'd never had the time or the friends or the emotional capacity for scary stories when she was a child, so it warmed her heart to hear of Anna's capers with her friends.

Another glance at the clock informed Elsa that she had forty seconds till midday.

"What happened in the story?"

"Oh, there was this young girl who had a bat living in her closet, and one night at midnight she heard it creak open and out came a terrifying vampire who liked warm hugs -"

"-around the neck-"

"with a rope." Both girls laughed and then lapsed back into awkward silence once again. Twenty-one seconds. It would be a piece of cake to keep Anna, the talkative one, distracted until the clock chimed.

But then again, Anna was being rather unresponsive at the moment...

Both sisters glanced at the clock.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone. I don't own Frozen, but as of this morning I do own a DVD of it... I finally get to see it in a language that I can speak! Yay! I'm sure it will drastically improve the style of my Frozen writing. Anyhow, hope you like the chapter!**

**Just a heads-up, this isn't the last chapter. And yes, I am leaving you hanging.**

**Please don't kill me when you get to the end. I like reviews. But, seriously, no killing allowed, especially of the author.**

* * *

Another thirteen seconds, Anna told herself. You can keep it in another thirteen seconds.

She tried to recall what they were talking about. Elsa had mentioned fabric... the cape? Were they discussing the cape? No, they'd moved on from that. Uh... stories. Vampires? Ah yes. Anna remembered now.

"Elsa have you ever seen a vampire?"

Anna cursed inwardly. What a stupid question! Vampires didn't exist.

"No, but one time Papa had a trainee advisor who I swear kept trying to eat his superiors," Elsa joked.

"Ha, ha."

Another six and a half seconds.

"Seriously, though, did you ever believe in vampires?"

"Maybe when I was really young. You'd have been a baby in a cradle."

"Do we still have the cradle?"

"It's -"

The clock chimed once. Elsa broke off and waited. Five, six. Anna anticipated the moment with a thrill of delight. Ten... eleven... twelve!

"APRIL FOOL!"

_Do I really have that loud a voice?_ was Anna's first thought. Then she realised. Elsa had shrieked the words as well. That meant that Elsa had pulled a prank on her. Anna thought back. Vampires? Maybe she had seen a vampire? Or maybe ... Anna couldn't think, she just stared at her older sister in surprise.

"Huh?"

* * *

Elsa was so shocked by Anna's identical cry that she actually, physically jumped back a foot. Flurries of thin snow rocketed from her fingertips at the surprise.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Hang on, Elsa, you pranked me?"

"Wait a second, Anna, how'd you know about April Fool's day?" The snow cleared from the air, coming to rest like a patronising hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I don't know, maybe Kristoff was telling me about one of his April Fool days, or I read it somewhere... or Papa told me? Anyway, why are you ignoring my questions?"

"Why do you always ignore mine?"

"Why are you answering all my questions with questions?"

"Sorry. Yeah, I did prank you. I know how you like a laugh."

"I thought you'd forget. You're not a very... dare I say it, _Foolish _person."

"No, I'm just Aprilish."

"See? That's your idea of a joke," Anna told her sister, flicking snow off Elsa's shoulder.

"Okay, that was pretty awful. But, hey, it was funny for me."

"What did you do exactly?"

Elsa chuckled and started to explain. But her words were smothered by her giggles and soon all she could do was point at the mirror and choke on laughter. Anna glanced from the mirror, to her sister, back to the mirror.

"Hang on, how did you do that? And you were so freaked out when you came in... I should have realised! How else would you have known which room I was in?"

Elsa pulled herself together. "It was so funny - you were trying to explain and I was pretending to be all annoyed and I had an excuse to be throwing all this snow everywhere- I'll have to take you skiing down the stairs sometime."

It was Anna's turn to laugh.

"That was a brilliant prank, Elsa! But it pales in comparison to mine. I've been working on it since yesterday."

"Okay, Master, what did you do?"

"I made it snow."

* * *

The princess jubilantly explained her prank to her sister. Once she'd finished, though, Anna looked up and noticed that Elsa did not look amused. "Your face when we were covered in the cape... what?" Anna faltered, seeing her sister's angry expression.

"Anna, do you have any idea what you've done?" Elsa hissed in fury. Under the rage there was a sea of relief- there was nothing wrong with her after all! - but she'd been so scared, and it had been for nothing more than Anna's entertainment. "You shouldn't fool around with this curse! I almost killed you, twice, more if you count Marshmallow. I believed you, I really did, you had me convinced I was getting out of control again! If I'd had to stay like that another minute or two, I could've brought this whole place down on top of us, probably killing everyone inside. _And, _most of the people on the grounds, as well." Thick ribbons of icy debris streamed from Elsa's fingertips and swirled around them, forming harsh patterns; strangling one another and fighting for dominance.

Anna stepped forwards, raising her hands. "Else, calm down - "

"I will not calm down!" Elsa whisper-shrieked, sending sheets of white billowing up from the floor and enveloping everything in the room.

Anna backed away, well aware of what had happened last time Elsa had been this emotional. "Elsa, I'm so sorry," she continued, "I thought you'd see it the same way I did. I didn't mean to be that convincing, really I didn't! I thought, once I'd told you, you'd relax and laugh and we could go have lunch."

"Anna, please give me the gloves."

"I - they make it worse, though, don't they?"

"Just give them to me, Anna, _please!"_

"I - I can't they've been ripped to shreds. I'm so sor-"

"Anna get out." Elsa's even tone displayed nothing and everything of her panic, rising even higher. She was going to erupt with frozen magic, and Anna would be safer behind the walls, in the care of the guards.

"You can't shut me out, again! Not over something like this!" Protested Anna, not wishing to be left alone for another ten years. Besides, Anna reasoned to herself, everything was solid white, she couldn't see to find the door.

For a second, there was no response but the howling wind of a snowstorm five times worse than a blizzard. Then came a long, high, tortured scream that Anna prayed to any God out there that she'd never hear again.

Then came the shouts of guards banging on the door, trying to get in.

_Then _came wave upon wave of power, surging through Anna's body. She felt like her cells were being reorganised. The room was full of pure magic - inescapable and unstoppable, and Anna's consciousness was lost along with her heartbeat.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry, I felt so evil after the end of chapter seven I had to start writing another one straight away. To put you out of your misery, if you were smart, you'd have gone up and reread the author's note. I said, at the end, 'No killing allowed', and that includes me killing off Anna. I wouldn't do that so unexpectedly. I'd give you warning. (Here is your warning - characters may die in this chapter).**

* * *

Elsa's scream petered out as the howling wind grew softer and faded away. Elsa lowered her arms, breathing heavily. "I'm sorry," she told her sister. "I'm okay now." She wasn't, but she was a whole lot better than she had been before. Let it go, then carry on. "Look at what I've done to the place, though." The room was ruined. Shreds of peeled paint lay scattered over the floor along with shards of mirror. The wood that had been used to build the room was corroded away - it was a miracle the roof was still holding up. The plush carpet had been shredded like cabbage. Elsa glanced to where the book shelves used to be. Nothing there, save a little brown wood dust.

Elsa thought she'd seen what happened when she lost control of the snow, and she had. But this, this was different. Like the pure blue magic that had frozen Anna's heart up in Elsa's ice palace, this room had been exposed to powerful magic in it's most absolute form. Wood that used to be metres thick now was only inches thick and could break at any moment.

"Hey, Anna, we should get out of here. There might be damaging upstairs which could result in a collapse at any time." ...

"Anna..?" Elsa turned to face her sister as the guards started to hammer at the door again. The wood of the door was almost gone, so it broke under very little pressure, sending the men staggering in. Elsa barely noticed.

"ANNA!"

Elsa was at her sister's side in less than half a second - sprinting as fast as she could, propelling herself with her magic. Anything to get to Anna. Ice-cold fingers pressed to her sister's freezing neck. Nothing. No pulse, no movement. "Anna!" Elsa cried out. "Fetch the doctor! Help me! Anna!" Her voice rose to a shriek as she started to sob hysterically. One of the guards, trained in medics, hurried forwards, pushing the Queen roughly out of the way and felt for a pulse, yelling commands to the other men - fetch the paramedic, assist the Queen, stand back. He began to pump her chest, blowing into her mouth. Nothing.

Elsa screamed again.

The guard rolled Anna onto her stomach, trying a different method of CPR. It was old-fashioned, yes, but it had been known to work in some cases when the classic method didn't.

In this case, the guard realised, his patient was a lost cause. The only thing driving him to continue was the poor Queen's frenzied screaming and struggles to reach her sister.

One of the guards burst in with the court doctor and two of the servants; Kai and Gerda. The doctor sprinted over to the princess and took over from the head guard, who stood back and watched.

Gerda was the first to reach Elsa, and attempted to hug her. "ANNA! ANNA!" screeched the Queen, uncontrollable in her hysteria. Gerda attempted to soothe the stressed young woman, only realising her efforts were futile when Elsa's long plait whacked her in the face. Kai approached them, and grasped Elsa's shoulder. Gerda took hold of the other one and they began to wait the doctor's verdict.

After forever and no time at all, the court doctor knew that if Anna were going to wake up, she would have by now. He stilled his hands and felt, one last time, for a pulse.

Nothing. Standing up, he approached Elsa carefully and knelt down before her. This was the worst part of being a doctor - having to break the news that a person's loved one was gone and not coming back. He shook his head and offered his condolences.

He stepped back, forming a line with the other guards. They bowed their heads and removed their hats in respect for the poor dead princess and the Queen's terrible grief.

The first thing Elsa did was calm down. Knowing was better than not knowing, surely? And she had to dismiss them before she murdered anyone else. The queen stood, majestically, her face set like stone. She shook off Kai and Gerda, then announced in a hard, cold voice; "I want you all out within the hour."

Nobody spoke, nobody moved. Elsa could feel her composure slipping, the tears and rage ready to spill. "Did you not hear me? Out!" She commanded, her voice rising. Very slowly, Kai stood up and put a hand on her arm.

"Your Majesty, he said, kindly; carefully, "You've just had a big scare and I know how it feels to lose a si-"

"GET OUT!" Elsa screamed at them. "I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU EVER AGAIN! DON'T COME BACK!" That was all Elsa could take. She burst into uncontrollable sobs and ran for the door. She had to get away, _get away, _before anybody else was killed by her hand. Like Anna. Elsa stopped in her tracks, and turned to face the small group. "No, _you _get out!" She demanded, her shields beginning to crack. "Get away before I kill every soul in this room!"

They still didn't move. Elsa snarled and raised her hands. White mist crept past her, moving towards the group. Elsa had never made any magic like this before - poisonous, white snowy fog. The guards, doctor, Kai and Gerda were forced back towards the window. Elsa bent her pinky finger and a wall of ice slammed into her subjects, knocking them out the window. Elsa was slightly disappointed that they were on the first floor, and she could see them standing up and trying to figure out what to do.

Elsa knew what to do. She curled up next to her baby sister and howled.

* * *

**Haha. I'm mean. Review if you would rather Anna had lived.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi! So, I apologise for chapters 7 and 8. I was in a pretty bad mood - I've been having family problems, I guess I just wrote it all out. (Hint: they're pretty big family issues, leaving me in Australia for at least the next month - this isn't how I'd planned my first visit). Yeah, so nobody in my family died, but maybe I was annoyed at them so I wrote a metaphor for killing them off? I don't regret Anna's death, though. There's a lot to write about it. I don't own Frozen.**

* * *

Elsa felt that she'd been dried up. Lying next to Anna's still body, she should be crying her eyes out, turning the room into one solid ice cube, accidentally injuring anyone within a five mile radius. But any water she'd had in her body had already been cried out or turned into freezing whiteness already, and she was all spent. Elsa couldn't even cry any more.

All she could do was lie there, wishing to swap places with her baby sister.

Why, oh why, did Elsa ruin everything she touched? Snow games with Anna as a baby. She'd made a beautiful palace, which had partially been destroyed by the same ice power that built it. For all she knew, Elsa herself had caused the storms that had sunk her parents' ship the night they'd died. Now she'd managed to ruin something as simple and childish as April Fools Day. Something that was meant to be filled with laughter and jokes and sheepish eye-rolling had lead to a palace almost being destroyed, six good people becoming unemployed and the destruction of a beautiful soul, long before her time was up.

Elsa closed her eyes and tried to block everything out. She nearly missed the door bursting open, and the heavy footsteps entirely slipped her radar. Elsa kept her eyes shut and waited for the person to leave.

"Anna! Elsa!" The voice was another blow to Elsa's heart. She caused so much pain - she'd ruined this, too. Anna and Kristoff's relationship had been one of the best things that had ever happened to Anna, and probably Kristoff too. So naturally, Elsa had come along and wrecked it.

She was despicable.

"She's dead, Kristoff." Elsa could have been dead too if he hadn't seen her mouth move.

"What happened?" choked the young man.

"She was trying to make me laugh. I got scared, and then angry, and then the whole room was full of this blue light, I'd never had that much power, and then I looked around and she was dead."

Kristoff didn't know how to comfort her. What do you say to a person who has just lost the remainder of their family and it might be their own fault?

Elsa continued, her expression remaining collected, her eyes still closed, her voice still steady.

"I didn't mean for it, Kristoff." _Oh, Elsa. Of course you didn't. She's your sister! _"I called the doctor. And the guards. They tried to bring her back, but it didn't work." _Elsa, poor girl, it's okay. It'll be alright. _"She's dead. The doctor told me. And it's my fault."

Finally Kristoff recognised the lack of emotion in Elsa's voice. She had given up, she was resigned, and she was hopeless. He had to say something, anything, to distract her from whatever you call this, even though he was crumbling on the inside too.

"Elsa, how did they try to bring her back?"

"They did CPR." The same dead, flat tone. "Twice. Two different ways."

"Well is the doctor any good?"

"The best. I thought. But he isn't a magician. Even he can't bring back the dead."

"Maybe she's not dead."

Finally, Elsa looked up. Her eyes opened and she gazed at Kristoff. "She doesn't have a heartbeat," Elsa told him quietly. "No pulse, no breathing, to response. She's gone, she really is, and it's ...it's my - m-my f-f-fault..." Finally Elsa broke into sobs, and Kristoff broke with her, and they clutched at each other for comfort over Anna's broken body on the floor.

* * *

It was almost half an hour later when they realised. Elsa's little voice inside her head had been yelling at her,_ my fault my fault my fault my fault,_ and eventually she'd started saying it out loud and then yelled at herself to shut up, and thrown her head in her hands, telling herself that she was impossible. Kristoff overheard. "Hey, nothing's impossible," he told her.

"Yes it is."

"Of all people, you aren't the one who should be saying that things are impossible. You're the girl who can make snow appear out of her hands and build a palace with her will power. You are the definition of impossible."

"What about you? You have a reindeer called Sven, and you have sort-of an adopted brother, Olaf the living snowman, and you grew up with a family of magical talking rocks."

They stared at each other.

"You know, Elsa, about those magical rocks... I've seen them bring back dead birds. I've seen them save hunting prey. I've seen them cure death."

"Could we..."

"Anything, for her."

"For Anna," Elsa agreed. And so they both wordlessly stood and prepared to travel.

* * *

Kristoff lifted Anna's still form into the back of the sleigh. Elsa swept her cloak over her shoulder and scrambled up next to her sister, throwing a bag of supplies to her other side. Kristoff looped a rope around Anna's wrist, strung it in front of Elsa, and lashed it to the other side of the sleigh. Then, not wasting a second, he vaulted into the 'cockpit' and they tore out of the stables like a bolt of lightning.

Kristoff liked to think that Sven was fast, but he knew that Elsa was propelling them along.

...

Elsa was alarmed as they tore through the city. Just this morning she'd cantered through here with Phantom, waving to the occasional subject and enjoying springtime. It was still spring, but going on midwinter. Icicles seemed to be popping from random places - corners, fences, people's hats. It was only as she took in a man struggling to remove a particularly nasty icicle from his shoulder that Elsa realised that Kristoff had also been impaled in several different places.

"Hey, Kristoff, why are you full of ice?"

"Oh, you couldn't get through the halls without being stabbed. Otherwise I would've been there half an hour ago."

"Oh." Elsa had thought she wasn't using her magic at all. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. You were clearly pretty upset. I wondered what might have happened that would make icicles pop up from the seat of the chair I was sitting on..." Kristoff trailed off delicately. Elsa laughed for the first time since... no. Never mind.

They passed familiar landmarks as dusk fell. Elsa, though tense and terribly upset, grew slightly bored. With one hand, she casually blasted a torrent of icy wind, the other hand creating wind-chimes from delicate droplets of crystal ice. Elsa smiled - Anna had always loved her wind chimes. There was still one in her room from when Anna had been eight - Elsa had made the chimes and given them to her parents to give to Anna for Christmas.

Elsa listened to the tinkling chimes, humming vaguely, when something caught her eye. Elsa glanced over sideways as Anna's chest rose and fell, just once.

Elsa nearly fell out of the sleigh.

She watched Anna for a few minutes, but the princess didn't stir again.

_It happened, though, _Elsa assured herself. _It did._


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi. On with the story! I've had plenty of great reviews, thanks everyone, and for the follows/favourites as well. Okay, I have one thing to say: Anna is NOT pranking being dead. I hope that clears things up. Oh and another thing to say, I don't own Frozen! Now read the story.**

* * *

Kristoff pushed Sven so hard, so fast, that by the time they reached the troll's clearing, it was nearly too hard to stop. Elsa almost blasted herself off the sleigh when she frantically tried to apply too much friction. The sled skidded to a halt, gently bumping into the front row of boulders. Elsa squawked like a parrot when Anna's limp body nearly flopped out of the sleigh. Luckily, none of the trolls were hurt, although they were grumbling as they dusted ice and dust off their shoulders.

Springing out of the sleigh, Kristoff pounced on the sisters, making sure they were unharmed (except for the obvious exception of Anna being just a little bit dead). He moved to lift Anna but the Queen rushed to stop him, lifting her arms and levitating Anna by magic. Kristoff, a little miffed, turned and called for Pabbie. Slowly, far too slowly for Elsa's liking, there came the familiar rumbling sound and the boulders rolled into the centre of the clearing.

"Kristoff's home!" The cry spread like a rumour, then quietened again almost immediately when Elsa stepped forward with Anna. One of the baby trolls squeaked that Kristoff had brought _two _girls this time, and his mother fixed him with a glare.

Elša gently lowered Anna to the ground in front of Pabbie, who reached over to lay a tender hand on her forehead. He sprung back immediately, with a look of surprise and alarm widening his features.

"I hadn't expected that degree of..." Pabbie trailed off, glancing curiously at Anna and then his hands several times, finally turning to Elsa. "What exactly happened?" He enquired, kneeling heavily next to the princess.

Elsa sighed and rubbed at her eyes with ice-cold fingers. "... I'm not sure _exactly_. I got really scared and then really mad, and then I used the magic, but it was different."

"Different how?"

"Instead of ice or snow, it was just magic. It was everywhere, all throughout the room. The walls thinned, and the bookshelves turned to rubble, and I don't even want to know where the carpet's gone. I turned around and Anna was just lying there on the floor."

Elsa wiped at her eyes again, guilt gnawing her insides like a dog gnaws a bone. Kristoff patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"Hmmm," mused the old troll, prodding Anna's elbow, feeling her forehead, and rubbing his own chin thoughtfully. "I don't think this problem is as serious as it looks."

This ridiculous statement shocked a laugh out of Elsa. Kristoff looked at her curiously - she'd seemed mopy and preoccupied on the sleigh ride here, barely paying enough attention not to blast them off a cliff or into a boulder. Considering his Queen's face, Kristoff decided that she'd just been startled.

"Not as serious as it looks?" Elsa's voice rose in very un-queenly squeakiness. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I think she's just asleep." Pabbie was thoughtful, and concentrating fiercely.

Again with Elsa's startled laugh. "A...Asleep? But her heartbeat - the doctor said..."

"Yes," Pabbie reiterated, "asleep. Her heartbeat seems to have receded, although that's said to be normal for magicburn victims - I've never had a case, but my Serbian family... they have a lot of telekinetics and the occasional firebreather. Hectic up there, apparently."

Elsa exchanged a glance with Kristoff, the tension in her shoulders melting with relief as the ice around her feet dispersed. Anna was alive! She'd never felt so happy.

Well, no. That was wrong - she wasn't really _happy _at all. But there was so much relief, and such a complete and total lack of sadness compared to what there had been just minutes ago, Elsa was willing to take it.

_Very _willing.

"So what do we do?" Kristoff's voice broke into her thoughts. Everyone turned to face him, except the little troll who'd started digging a hole and burying his mother's toes in it; oblivious to what was happening.

"That's true - you've told us what the problem is; from what I can gather my sister has been burned by magic and drawn into a recessive sleep." Elsa raised an eyebrow and Pabbie nodded, confirming her facts and motioning for her to continue. "What I haven't heard is why she's asleep, and why it makes her heartbeat and breathing stop."

"Fade," Pabbie corrected. Elsa waved a hand, amending her error.

"Fade, then. We also haven't been told how we wake her from this sleep. Will she be all right?"

Pabbie leaned back from Anna and regarded Elsa, watching her for a moment. His knowing gaze made her fidget, uncomfortable under such scrutiny.

"Elsa, started Pabbie, "have you ever been to Serbia?"

* * *

Gerda smoothed her apron and checked her hair one last time. She was an older lady, and didn't much care for her appearance, but even Gerda knew she had to appear in her best - if plain - manner to address the citizens of the kingdom.

One of the guards yelled out for silence, and Gerda could feel the hush fall over the crowd as though it had a physical presence. On the balcony, a uniformed guard beckoned, and Gerda emerged from the doors of the palace to address the people.

_Compassion, _she told herself. _Kindness. Understanding. You are a citizen just like them. _Gerda took a breath and allowed her voice to ring out, carrying down to Elsa's subjects.

"People of Arendelle," she called, revelling in the sound of her voice's echo despite the circumstances. "I speak to you today on behalf of her Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle." A general applause broke out at Elsa's name, some people calling for the Queen to come and speak for herself. Gerda's smile faltered. "My name is Gerda, I serve her Majesty and the court. I speak to you on behalf of the Queen today because... a tragic accident occurred just after midday yesterday." Gerda glanced at the still-rising sun. It had been less than 24 hours since her life had changed forever. They had chosen this time for a reason, though.

"Princess Anna and Queen Elsa were conferring yesterday -" she'd had no better word for the exchange the sisters had shared - "when her Majesty, through no fault of her own, _accidentally _caused severe damage to the room they were in. The Princess was fatally injured in the calamity and so I ask of you all, to share with me a minute's absolute silence in remembrance of one of the brightest, bravest Princesses in this kingdom, or the next."

The crowd's murmuring and shocked whispers faded away as heads bowed and young children were shushed. Guards and soldiers stood to attention, swords drawn, saluting for the entire sixty seconds. Gerda wiped tears from her cheeks and tried not to sob.

A trumpet call aroused the people, and Gerda knew she had to speak again. her voice quivered with unshed tears, but she spoke from the heart right to Elsa's people. "I - I am sure you will all understand how her Majesty the Queen is feeling at the moment. The Princess Anna was the only remainder of her family; her beloved sister and best friend. I hope you can all understand that the Queen is in no fit state to speak to an assembly - as a matter of fact... Queen Elsa isn't here right now." Gerda nearly choked on a sob, accidentally letting that sentence hang in front of the people. Murmurings and rumours spread and then faded like ripples as Gerda raised her hands, voice now shaking and almost out of control.

"The Queen, official Ice Master Kristoff and a trusted companion Sven have taken Princess Anna to the North Mountains. She does not wish me to share with you the official reasoning behind this journey, and she has requested solitude in this journey. I myself will abide by her wishes, and I hope you all feel enough sympathy and empathy to the Queen so as to do the same-"

Gerda finally broke off in sobs, waving for a soldier to dismiss the assembly.

That could have gone better.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait. I tend to do that a lot. I don't own Frozen. Sorry about that, I had a competition which... could have gone better. I've been preoccupied. Enjoy.**

* * *

Kristoff turned the ancient parchment around in his hands, trying to decipher the trail it showed. To Serbia, no less.

Elsa bit back a gentle laugh, leaned forwards and flipped it over, pointing ahead to the left. "This way, if we want to avoid the canyon," she told him.

Kristoff humphed. "If it's still there, that is."

Sven and his owner shared a carrot and the sleigh took off in the direction Elsa had indicated.

* * *

It was practically daybreak by the time Elsa fell asleep. And she woke up again almost immediately, in a strange place with flickering green light - it was almost as if a million emerald candles were hidden behind translucent sheets of cloth. Even stranger, Anna was sitting cross-legged on the floor, doing her hair. Elsa blinked, then flew over to her sister, crushing her in an embrace.

"Oououhch-gdeva-stchihisch." Anna choked out. Elsa whimpered a laugh and released her hold a little.

"Anna," she whispered, tears falling and crystallizing in middair, "I'm so, so sorry,"

"I know," the younger girl laughed, "You said so a lot."

"Where are we?" Elsa sniffled, face buried in Anna's red hair, but able to peek out between strands.

"I don't know," Anna told her. "This is your dream, isn't it?"

"I'm still asleep?"

"Of course. Me too. But you're going to wake up soon."

"You aren't?"

"I don't know how. Maybe the Serbian trolls can help with that."

"So you're not really here?"

"Of course not. Neither are you. I'm a figment of your imagination. You wake me up, and I won't remember this, because you made it up in your head."

"Oh," Elsa said sadly. Anna ruffled her hair.

Elsa looked up, slightly confused but smiling. This was like a reverse of what they'd done as small children - ever rebellious, Anna had gotten in trouble more times than she could count, and Elsa had had to comfort her while she cried. Nobody had ruffled her hair since... she couldn't recall a time ever when anybody had ruffled it. But it felt nice, and Elsa leaned into Anna's touch.

Anna pulled back and cupped Elsa's cheeks. "Don't be afraid of the magic," she said seriously. "It can do great things. And don't force yourself to feel peaceful. That will make it worse later. Remember, freedom."

And then the flickering emerald light faded, and Elsa woke with Anna's serious eyes imprinted on her retinas.

And a pack of wolves trying to eat her face. Which wasn't exactly the best 'good morning' Elsa had ever received.

* * *

A knife-wielding Kristoff hacked at a wolf while trying to steer the sleigh. All traces of drowsiness gone, Elsa sat bolt-upright and blasted the creature away from Anna's boyfriend before dealing with her own. After the shock of being woken so suddenly, it was hard to conjure specific types of ice-blasts, but Elsa woke up pretty quick when one of the large wolves lunged at Anna. A surge of freezing wind and hail hit the wolves and shot the sleigh forwards about a hundred feet.

Kristoff shoved a final, smaller brown wolf off of Sven's back and just like that, the beasts were vanquished. Elsa blinked. If this was the only type of action they were going to encounter it would be a short but boring trip to Serbia.

Elsa cursed the traitorous thought. The last thing she needed was action. Boring was wonderful, really.

It was then that she realised that Anna was missing. "STOP!" She shrieked. Kristoff yanked on the reins, and the sleigh shuddered to a halt. At another time, he would have complained about the damage to his sleigh, what with all the stopping and starting and being blasted around the place, but he could hear the panic in the Queen's voice. And the second he turned around, he knew why. Wordlessly, the two of them jumped out of the sleigh and sprinted back the way they came.

Elsa knew it had been too easy.

...

It took half an hour to find the princess, and that was with Kristoff making another torch out of tree bark, and Elsa luring all of the wolves into a certain area and then slamming a wall of ice around them to keep them enclosed. Once they found Anna half-buried under a heap of snow (_natural _snow, Elsa told Kristoff defensively) and took off Serbia-wards, Elsa evaporated the ice.

She was nice like that sometimes.

Sometimes.

...

Elsa attatched Anna more securely to the sleigh, and then scrambled into the front with Kristoff. He looked at her sideways. "What?"

"You have to teach me to drive the sleigh." She told him with determination.

"No," was Kristoff's immediate answer, but it occurred to him that he'd just blatantly turned down the Queen of Arendelle. He didn't have time to apologise, though, because Elsa had already argued back.

"No, you _have _to. We can't stop anywhere to sleep, and you'll collapse of exhaustion if you try to stay up. Hence, I have to drive the sleigh." He looked at her doubtfully. "Besides, I can read the map better than you can."

Kristoff gave a little grin and nodded his assent, but he had his own private doubts. What if she made a mistake and hurt Sven? What if she accidentally froze everything from the stress of driving a sleigh? But he handed over the reigns and showed her how to guide Sven, how not to hurt him by tugging on the bit, and how to stop, slow and speed up. He waited up with her as she got the feel for the sleigh, and then clambered into the back, succumbing to a heavy sleep next to Anna. His dreams were filled with fluttering green light and a lively redheaded girl.

* * *

**Well, there you are! Hope that satisfied you... Thanks for your follows, favourites and reviews, they are very much appreciated. I hope you can check out my other work while you wait for the next chapter. This one I thought was sweet, with inklings of humour, for everyone who was annoyed when I 'killed off' Anna and the themes were humour and family. Thanks again!**


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